When a Hamburger in Japan Isn’t a Hamburger

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A hamburger in Japan is many things. People in the US tend to have a pretty narrow view of the food—all you really need is two buns with a beef patty in between. Maybe if you’re feeling especially adventurous, you have something more unusual, like barbecue sauce, brioche bun, or blue cheese, but that’s really about the size of it.

I’ve found that in Japan, you can find a lot more unusual and various types of hamburgers, ones that you would never, ever find here in the US.

When a Hamburger is Wild

A hamburger in Japan can be wild. Japanese fast food chain Lotteria recently offered a “wild burger” in honor of comedian Sugi-chan. Sugi-chan is one of the biggest celebrities in Japan right now (for who knows what reason), and his catchphrase ワイルドだろぉ？ (“wild, right?”) was one of the biggest buzzwords in Japan last year.

wild-burger

In Lotteria’s case, a “wild burger” was an oversized shrimp patty on two comically small buns. Wild, right?

More recently, Lotteria is offering a burger with nine patties. In celebration of the release of the newest Evangelion movie on DVD and Blu-Ray, Lotteria is currently offering a $13, nine-patty burger, after the name of the movie (Evangelion 3.33—3 + 3 + 3 = 9). That seems pretty wild.

When a Hamburger is Candy

A hamburger in Japan can be a candy. A popular type of Japanese candy (popular, at least, with people abroad) is a kind of DIY kit. The kit usually provides you with some powders, some molds, and instructions on how to turn it all into the final product.

Japanese YouTuber RRcherrypie is internet famous (the best kind of famous) for creating step-by-step guides on how to assemble these kits, and one of the most popular (and relevant to this post) recently has been a hamburger candy.

I can’t vouch at all for the taste, but it’s definitely a cool process to watch and, presumably, to try yourself.

When a Hamburger is a Billionaire

A hamburger in Japan can be Facebook founder and hoodie enthusiast Mark Zuckerberg. At least, that’s what some Japanese women think. The way that Zuckerberg’s name is transliterated into Japanese (ザッカーバーグ) sounds a lot like the Japanese word for a hamburger steak (ハンバーグ) which, to add to the confusion.

zuckerburger

Fortunately, I don’t think that you’ll be set back too much by these two similar words. But if you somehow are served a live, confused Mark Zuckerberg instead of a delicious hamburger, then you’re on your own.

When a Hamburger is Black

A hamburger in Japan can be black, or contain pumpkin. Japanese fast food chains like Lotteria aren’t the only restaurants that serve bizarre hamburgers in Japan. International chains like Burger King or McDonald’s also cater to Japan’s local, sometimes eccentric tastes.

black-burger

As we wrote about before, last year Burger King rolled special promotional items like an all-you-can-eat meal, a burger with black buns (dyed with bamboo charcoal and squid ink), and Halloween burgers that included a thick slice of kabocha.

It may be surprising to see these items offered by Burger King when the company’s offerings in its home country (the US) are so tame, but foreign companies have to adapt to Japan’s tastes and culture if they have a hope to survive.

Sometimes a Hamburger is Just a Hamburger

A hamburger in Japan isn’t always wild and wacky, or out there. You can always get a pretty normal, regular burger at virtually any Japanese fast food chain (like MOS Burger or Freshness Burger), foreign chains, or local restaurants.

sigmund-freud

But every time I go to a restaurant in the US that only offers a regular-ol’, everyday hamburger, I wish that it could be something more. Maybe I should start bringing my own squid ink.

  • Brad Garrett

    Crazy hamburgers. I’ll have to try some when I go to Japan this summer!

  • Miss N’Donna

    I’m hoping to visit Japan in February of next year. I definitely want to visit Mos Burger!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=511987068 Eggers Christopher

    Maybe it also should be mentioned that a lot of hamburgers in Japan aren’t all beef. A lot of them seem to be a pork/beef mixture.

  • http://twitter.com/5149eszter eszter

    its kind of what the rest of the world does with the concept of sushi

  • Mescale

    In + Out’s secret menu is something I’ve always wanted to try though.

  • DAVIDPD

    Do it.

  • DAVIDPD

    I could write an endless comment on hamburgers, but instead I will say this: Personally, I am a “hamburger purist” meaning, I do not approve of a hamburger unless it is two buns (not bread), and beef (no chicken, fish, pork, etc.). That is all I need and want (of course “bunny chow” condiments are acceptable). Yes it is a taxing existence that causes me more pain than pleasure, but for the moments when I get to eat a good hamburger, they are resplendent. Regarding hamburgers in Japan, while mostly, they do not conform with my beliefs in what a hamburger should be, I do think they are very interesting, not in a patronizing way at all. Yes, they are wacky, and often tied together with some kind of theme, but they are representations of a the culture, more than the actual food. A little while ago there was the “Anime Viewing Burger” from Burger King that was just two buns and a beef patty. It looked amazing and was designed to not distract the eater from watching anime while eating it. Brilliant. In conclusion, while they may not fit my personal ideas on what hamburgers are supposed to be, The Japanese have done what they do best, taken another country’s product and fusing it with their (Japanese) ideas into creating something that is uniquely Japanese.

  • simplyshiny

    Can’t it also be kinda meatloaf-y with out the buns?

  • http://twitter.com/Cupucuups Hamyo

    That black burger seems really weird, or might be somekind of racism hiding inside that bun i guess… nope just kidding. –”
    http://okonomikatsu.blogspot.com/2013/04/special-ladies-night-posting-ai-kayano.html

  • http://twitter.com/flabang raccoon-san

    I WANT A KURO BURGER.
    NOW.

  • http://twitter.com/Musouka Musouka

    Mos Burger has recently started offering patties wrapped in lettuce. Granted, these have been available outside of Japan for quite some time (I remember eating one at Hardee’s 5 years ago and being disappointed when the lettuce wrapping came off almost instantly) but they still look somewhat novel even after all these years….

    http://www.mos.co.jp/cp/natsumi/130423/

  • http://twitter.com/SactoMan81 Raymond Chuang

    Anyone who’s at least stayed in Japan for a few months knows that the hamburgers you can buy in Japan can be QUITE different than what you find in the USA. Even McDonald’s in Japan has some very distinct burgers, for example the “Gurakoro” burger that has a macaroni and shrimp cream croquette patty and is only available in the first two weeks of December (it has a cult following like the McRib here in the USA).

  • Henro 88

    …have you never been to Red Robin? Japanese hamburgers are maybe one of the absolute least surprising things about Japan. Nowhere near as shocking (to an American) as their pizza is.

    Incidentally, McDonald’s has an ongoing series of “American” hamburgers, meant to represent different regions of the US. Their Idaho burger was the most half-assed thing I’d ever seen: a hamburger with a McDonald’s breakfast hashbrown on it.

    Obviously, I did what any sane person would do and got really excited about having a hashbrown burger, and went and got one on my lunchbreak the very next day!

  • Henro 88

    Or, you know, kind of what the rest of the world does with the concept of hamburgers.

  • http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/ Japan Australia

    How about the rice burgers at Mos Burger?

  • foozlesprite

    The Happy Kitchen hamburger thing is actually pretty close to actual hamburger/fries/cola in taste. It was pretty freakish that it was that close, to be honest.

  • CelestialSushi

    Really?? O_o That’s wild… Watching the videos, there was this part of me that just assumed it would have some sort of “fun” candy flavorings, like how we have gummi hamburgers on the candy market that taste nothing like real burgers.

  • Kevin A-Z

    Due to my asianness, I have had a shrimp burger, and I gotta say they are pretty good. It’s a nice change up from the norm. If you’re a person who’s all about food presentation, the black burger would be a pretty solid option too!

  • Flora

    I’ve been hearing about the Kuro burger for awhile now & I’m really curious. I’ve decided that I’m going to try it as soon as I get to Japan (although I think black fries would really round out the meal). That is, if they’re still selling it then :P

  • Henro 88

    Japan is really, really big on “limited edition” items. Anything you hear about in the US will probably be discontinued by the time you get here. It’s actually one of the best things about living here – and the worst. You never really know what you’ll find at a store or restaurant!

  • Henro 88

    I don’t think my local grocery store even has 100% ground beef, now that you mention it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/lowran.newlove Lauren Summers Feels

    *snicker*

  • crella

    Yes, that one was disappointing.

  • Henro 88

    Yeah, but it was so bad it was good. You know? Like, someone seriously sat down and pitched to their boss, “Hey, hashbrown hamburger. To represent Idaho. White people will love it.” It was like…white people bait. I seriously call shit like that 白人エサ, because, seriously. It fills me with joy with how absurd it is, and the stereotyped thinking that must have gone into making it.

    But this thing was stoner food – such gloriously perfect stoner food – and I guarantee if we had been able to eat it after getting high, it would have been the best meal of our lives.

  • crella

    ‘白人エサ’, LOL!

  • http://twitter.com/velderia Velda

    Freud-san. :D

  • pipokun

    japan actually has the best burgers in the world!

    check out all the americana burger joints that are popular in japan right now.. GOLDEN BROWN, THE GREAT BURGER, etc etc….

  • Kashii-Chan

    yes! rice burgers are the best!
    I’d take one over a hamburger any day